Timothy g



(No Model.)

T. G. PALMER. V TORPEDO FOR DANGER SIGNALS UPONRAILWAYS.

, No. 310,718. Patented Jan. 13', 1885 illustrating the form which the shell assumes.

TIMOTHY G. PALMER, OF SOHULTZVILLE, NEW YORK.

TORlPEDO FOR DANGER-SIGNALS UPON RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 310,718, dated January 13, 1885.

Application filed July 24, 1884.

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TIMOTHY G. PALMER, of Schultzville, in the county of Dutchess and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Torpedoes for Danger-Signals upon Railways,of which the following is a specification.

In Letters Patent No. 285,920, granted to me, the anvil receives atorpedo, and the passing train acts upon the same to explode the torpedo. In this and other automatic signal devices there is difficulty in insuring the proper removal of the spent shell andpreventing the same clogging in or obstructing the apparatus.

My present invention relates to a peculiar construction of torpedo-case, which is adapted to automatic signals for railways, because the sa'ine opens and iis ruptured by the explosion in such a manner that the case cannot be drawn back with the automatic apparatus after being discharged, and is easily pushed away by the torpedo that is next pushed forward into position to be exploded.

In the drawings, Figure l is a section of the torpedo-case, ready to be exploded, and Fig. 2 is a viewiofthe same after explosion,

The anvil upon which the shell rests is illustrated at A, and the punch or exploder at B. These may be of any desired character, and the slide or pusher L, for supplying the cartridges automatically, may be such as shown in my aforesaid patent, or of any other suitable construction. The shell containing the detonating material is made of two parts of sheet metal having rims, one of which slips inside the other; but instead of the two shells being alikeand slightly convex in the up- (No model.)

per and lower surfaces, I make use of one shell, d, with a convex surface and a rim, 6, and the other shell, 70, with a conoidal body and a rim, i, that enters inside the rim 6. The rims e and fit together closely. The fulminate is to be introduced in the usual manner, and the shell is rendered water-tight by varnish, paint, or othersuitable material applied around the edges. WVhen the torpedo is moved upon the anvil A, the conoidal shell is to be downwardly, and the flat portion of the said shell rests upon such anvil A. When the torpedo is compressed and exploded, the conical part of the shell it receives the force of the detonation, because it is unsupported. The consequence is that such conical portion is torn and flattened out and spreads over the edges of the anvil A whenever the same is of less diameter than the cartridge, and under all circumstances the conical part,when spread or flattened out, cannot draw back with the slide L, but it is left behind upon the anvil as the slide is drawn back, and it is easily pushed away when another torpedo is moved forward to position by the slide.

I claim as my invention- The torpedo having a two-part shell, one of which parts is slightly convex and the other is in the form of a truncated cone, the rim at the edge of one shell setting within the rim at the edge of the other shell, substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 18th day of July, A. D. 1884..

T. G. PALMER.

Witnesses:

I. M. TRIPP, S. A. PALMER. 

